Nothing is Perfect
by Travithian Axile
Summary: Oneshot. A case where the bad guy wins, only to discover that nothing is ever perfect, not even being a god. R&R!


Nothing is Perfect  
  
A Word From the Author: A fic where the bad guy, namely Sephiroth, wins, only to find that even getting his deepest desires are not what he would really expect them to be. Heh heh...I love writing angsty fics like this!  
  
It was a land of everlasting winter.  
  
Long ago the Calamity from the Skies fell here, searing a deep scar forever onto the skin of the Planet. Leaving behind a massive crater that could easily have accommodated Midgar. Here the Cetras' worst nightmares blossomed into being.  
  
And now, in the midst of the frozen ice, was taking place another earth- shaking, cataclysmic event that could save or destroy the world depending solely on the outcome.  
  
Two men circled each other, one with glowing blue eyes flashing with hatred so strong that it could have burnt a hole through his adversary, the other with cool, dispassionate Mako eyes the color of palest jade. They brought to mind the spectacle of two lean, dangerous wolves, locked in a primal age- old struggle of supremancy. Their swords flashed like silvery talons as they took the measure of the other, coming away from every clash with grudging respect for the foe.  
  
Outside the ring, AVALANCHE watched, but made no move to help. This was something beyond their ken, they instinctively understood. This battle that was taking place before their eyes had nothing to do with the Planet or Jenova, not anymore. Right now it was just a brutal contest of strength between these two opponents, connected in ways they could not begin to understand. The last two sons of Jenova, only they had chosen to take different paths.  
  
Cloud hated him, hated the lack of emotion, the faint, unnerving smile that challenged and beckoned. Once he had dreamed to be like this man. Now he merely wanted his blood on his sword, and the thrill of depriving him of the sick, twisted thing his life had become.  
  
Sephiroth didn't give a damn about Cloud, except that he was blocking his way. His godhood was so close...so close! There was no way he could let this failure of a clone stop him.  
  
The swordsmen whirled, in a dazzling, breathtaking show of skill that might have been beautiful would it not have been for its deadliness and the fact that the fate of the Planet lay heavily on how it ended. Tifa despised the feeling of helplessness. But it was all up to Cloud now. They could always count on Cloud.  
  
***  
  
"Foolish boy," Sephiroth murmured mockingly as the Masamune drove hard against the Ultima Weapon's upraised guard. "Why bother? It's all inevitable in the end."  
  
"It hasn't ended yet," Cloud returned fiercely, freeing his broadsword and attempting a swipe at Sephiroth's shoulder as the Masamune fell abruptly forward. Sephiroth danced backwards and took the blow only as a shallow cut which healed almost instantly.  
  
"Look upwards," Sephiroth informed him in sarcastic tones. "Meteor is a about to fall...and I shall be able to merge with the Planet at long last!" He giggled insanely, but just as quickly as it had began his mirth died away and he regarded Cloud with cold eyes. "But you die first." It was a statement full of deadly promise. He attacked more viciously than before, and Cloud was forced to retreat under the constant barrage.  
  
Cloud's grip on the Ultima Weapon was sweat-slick, and his hold was precarious at best. He moved away further, adjusting his hold on the broadsword's hilt, and at that exact moment Sephiroth's silvery blade flashed down and knocked the sword from his hands. The whole world seemed to freeze, holding its breath, and the second dragged on forever.  
  
Then time returned to normal, and the Ultima Weapon clattered nosily against the rocks. Cloud dove for it, avoiding the bite of Sephiroth's curved sword as it swiped past him inches away. He grabbed it and leaped to his feet to face his enemy.  
  
But no one was there.  
  
(What the—?)  
  
Suddenly, Cloud understood, and spun around as fast as he was able. But it was too late. He tried to gasp, but six feet of glittering steel weighing down his guts choked down any sound he could have made. A bubble of blood burst at the corner of his lips as he struggled to whisper in a tone filled with unutterable despair, "But it wasn't supposed to end like this."  
  
"Quit dreaming, boy." His nemesis said quietly, coolly, from above him. "Did you believe the rubbish that good will always triumph over evil? This isn't a land of fairy tales. This is the real world."  
  
The members of AVALANCHE were racing towards him, shouting in rage and sorrow. Cloud's dimming eyes gazed at them, then they fixed and he died. Sephiroth scarcely noticed. He just smiled, as Meteor hurtled out of the sky.  
  
***  
  
The explosion was terrible. The Planet tried to hold together, to protect its inhabitants, but its previous wound and the drain of the Mako reactors had seriously weakened it. The land broke up, fire ravaged towns, villages, cities, and swallowed them whole in a fiery sheet of flame. New oceans formed, mountains sprung where previously none had existed.  
  
It was nightmarish.  
  
Out of all the eyes that watched this spectacle, only two pairs did so with maniac glee. Sephiroth floated, safely, out of harm's way, watching with mild interest. Jenova hissed and chuckled wickedly, caressing and stroking the pillars of his mind.  
  
(You have done well, my son.)  
  
(Thank you, Mother) he replied, breathless with his success and his mother's praise, so rarely heard.  
  
And they continued to watch, together, as the world died around them.  
  
***  
  
—In the far distant future...  
  
The Planet was a cold, dead rock of matter floating aimlessly around in space. Bugenhagen's worst expectations had come true. Only one person lived there now, but no one would ever have recognized him.  
  
He had never dreamed it would be like this. Alone, in the darkness. It was as if he had come full circle. The world was his, and his alone, for Jenova had abandoned him eons ago to seek out other worlds to destroy. She'd never cared for him. He was just a tool to help her eliminate a planet that had always stayed stubbornly out of her grasp.  
  
So he had the whole blasted, desolate planet to himself. Trapped, despite his godhood, forever trapped. Sometimes he took corporeal form and wandered here and there, talking to himself, just to hear a human voice.  
  
(...It wasn't supposed to end like this)  
  
And his mental condition grew steadily worse and worse as the centuries passed, and the Planet remained dead.  
  
For gods were immortal.  
  
Millenia dragged slowly past, and there was no one but himself to hear him scream.  
  
Author's Ending Note: First, I must give most credit of this work to a book called Test of the Twins, in which the main character becomes a god, only to find that it was not quite as glamorous as it was all made out to be. It would fit here in Sephiroth's case, no? So, what do you think of it? Critics are welcome to e-mail me or just send in a review. 


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